What Does a Healthy Trufant Mean?

Written by Chris Sullivan | 21 October 2009

Marcus Trufant has practiced two days in a row with no apparent ill effects. That is very good news. There is no doubt that having Trufant on the field will improve this defense, but the ripple effect his presence adds could be somewhat dramatic.

First and foremost, he is the most talented member of our secondary by a long stretch. So, y'know, that's really good.

Secondly though, with Trufant taking his spot back, there is more competition out there (and less Kelly Jennings). It remains to be seen whether Josh Wilson has done enough to wrest the second starting spot away from Ken Lucas, but in reality all three CBs will get a lot of time out there. I expect the Hawks to play their corners a bit like they are their DTs -- if you're going against big, power receivers like Fitzgerald or Andre Johnson, you start Lucas; if you're going against speedsters, you start Wilson.

Josh Wilson has the skills to be one of the best nickelbacks in the league, regardless of whether he starts in 2 CB situations or not. He will almost always (and should) slide in and present a blitz risk that must be accounted for. I have still not seen a Wilson blitz where he does not significantly alter the course of the play. Putting him in at nickel will give him many more chances to do that. Beyond that, with Trufant, Lucas and Wilson all healthy, the Seahawks have another decent cornerback who can play Dime. I think we've thrown maybe four dime packages out so far this year, because, really, who was going to go out there?

Finally, with Trufant back there, we have a much better secondary and are able to take more blitz risks that we had been promised early on. Yes, the front four is still the key to our pressure packages, but imagine sending Curry off the edge with Hill blitzing down the middle and Mebane collapsing the middle of the pocket. Maybe no sack the first time, but that errant throw that Trufant or Wilson grabs will make all the difference in a close game.

Am I being too optimistic? Sure, maybe I am, but after hearing Hasselbeck the last few days I just don't believe that the season is over yet. If we win the next three games -- all of which are very winnable games -- we are 5-4 and ready to make a charge for the postseason. Bear in mind, the Seahawks play four last-place opponents with a combined record of 1-23. So far, we've lost four games to teams with a combined record of 14-6. Still, we've only beaten poor teams thus far, so it's a long road ahead, but that doesn't mean the playoffs aren't attainable.

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